title: Motor development in children at risk of autism: a follow-up study of infant siblings.
abstract: Recently, evidence of poor or atypical motor skills in autism spectrum disorder has led some to argue that motor impairment is a core feature of the condition. The current study uses a longitudinal prospective design to assess the development of motor skills of 20 children at increased risk of developing autism spectrum disorder, who were recruited and tested at 9 and 40 months of age, on the basis of having an older sibling diagnosed with the condition. All children completed a range of motor, face processing, IQ and diagnostic assessments at a follow-up visit (aged 5-7 years), providing a detailed profile of development in this group from a number of standardised, parental report and experimental measures. A higher proportion of children than expected demonstrated motor difficulties at the follow-up visit and those highlighted by parental report as having poor motor skills as infants and toddlers were also more likely to have lower face processing scores and elevated autism-related social symptoms at 5-7 years, despite having similar IQ levels. These data lend support to the argument that early motor difficulties may be a risk factor for later motor impairment as well as differences in social communication and cognition, traits that are related to autism spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: 1Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: Hayley C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bedford
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: Mayada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elsabbagh
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Elisabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010641:Phenotype; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D035781:Siblings
keywords: autism spectrum disorder; broader autism phenotype; face processing; infant siblings; motor development